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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Ruffle Sleeve Top Tutorial

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the ruffle sleeve tunic top. I decided to put together a tutorial, so that you all could make one of your own. A few notes: I am giving directions for the top that I made in a size 4T/5T. If you are making it smaller or larger, you will need to adjust the measurements accordingly. ***Measurements for 2T/3T now listed at the bottom of this post*** Also, choose a lightweight fabric like a cotton or cotton blend. Anything thicker will just not work for the sleeves. Alright! Here's how I did it:

Cut a piece of fabric measuring 36" by 17". The 36" length is the one that goes around the chest. Sadie's chest measures 23" so adjust accordingly for a smaller or bigger size. The 17" length is for the length of the top. Again, adjust accordingly for a different size. Or add a bit more length to make this into a dress.

Also, cut two pieces of fabric to 7" by 16" for the sleeve.

You're going to need some elastic as well. I used 1/2 inch elastic.

Take the larger piece of fabric & sew right sides together along the shorter (17") side. Finish your edge with a zig zag stitch.

Make a casing along the top end of this tube. Fold down 1/4 inch & iron.

Then fold down & iron again 1/2 inch, or slightly bigger then the width of your elastic.

Staring at one side of your back seam, stitch along the edge of your casing, leaving a 1" opening for the elastic.

Below are examples of elastic. The top is regular elastic & the bottom is non-roll elastic. I would recommend using the non-roll elastic.

Cut a piece of elastic that is one inch longer than the chest measurement. Sadie's chest measurement is 23" so I used a 24" piece of elastic. Using a safety pin, thread your elastic all the way through the casing.

Overlap your elastic ends & stitch together.

Position your elastic inside the casing. If you want to attach a tag to your shirt now is the time to do that. I use a small piece of bias tape. Ribbon could also be used. Fold it over & tuck the ends into the casing. Pin in place & stitch your casing closed.

Next, you need to cut rounded corners, like shown below. I just freehand on one end. Then fold the piece in half at the center to use that end as a guide for cutting the other half. Then place this piece on top of the other sleeve piece & use it as a template for cutting the rounded corners on that one.

Pin in place & stitch around the rounded side, leaving the bottom open.

Remove the pins, snip your seams around the corners on both sleeve pieces. This makes it easier to turn those corners out.

Turn the sleeve pieces out, iron flat & then top stitch around the rounded edges of both sleeve pieces.

Next, make a casing for the elastic on the sleeve pieces. Fold up the bottom hem 1/4" & iron.

Fold up another 1/2", or slightly larger than the width of your elastic & iron. Pin into place & stitch along the top folded edge.

Using a safety pin, thread elastic through the casing. At this point I like to measure the sleeve against my child to make sure I'm getting the length right. Then stitch the elastic in place at the openings.

Trim your threads & an excess elastic. Position your sleeve pieces on the shirt. I go about 3 inches from the back center seam & then line it up with the front. You may need to measure this on your child before your attach the sleeves.

Sew each of the sleeves into place.

Now you just need to hem up the bottom. Fold down the bottom hem 1/4" and iron flat. Then fold down another 1/2" & iron flat. I like to place pins in the hem as I'm ironing it, to keep the hem nice & flat.

Starting & ending at the back seam, stitch your hem into place.

And there you have it! You've finished your top!

As you can see, Sadie was not very happy to be modeling for me once again.

But then her foot rubbed against the chalkboard & it sounded like a toot & that got her laughing. :)

So, I've given you the basic top here. You could add pockets, a contrasting band of fabric along the bottom, lengthen it into a dress, and add a ruffle at the bottom. They are really comfy & the sleeve works nicely as a cool summer top, but goes over a t-shirt well for use in the winter too!

78 comments:

Thanks for sharing that. I like the way you did the sleeves, fewer steps is always a bonus for me. And thanks for the photo of the elastic. I think I have both in my sewing box but I don't recall that it said it was "no roll".

It's only 8 a.m. and I've found a tutorial for a completely darling top in exactly the right measurements?! It's my lucky day!! Thank you so much for putting this together. I'll make one by the weekend for sure!

i like to sew my daughters clothes too. i made her a "spring collection", but have discovered she does NOT need clothes for the fall. well... shirts maybe. but that's it! my poor son. he gets nothing ;)

you really are the coolest. so great of you to share your wealth of knowledge instead of trying to hoard it for those of us who can't afford to buy some things for our children and don't have the basic skills to come up with this stuff. seriously, just found your blog and already a huge help. cannot wait to venture through past posts and subscribing for the future ones! GREAT WORK. (:

Okay, I'm a sewing addict. I'm really supposed to be packing. But I spent last night making your top! It was just too adorable that I wanted to share your tutorial with everyone. Thanks for posting this!I blogged about it here:http://www.dana-made-it.com/2009/08/you-know-youre-addicted-to-sewing-when.html- dana

Hi Candace, lovely to find your blog. thankyou so much for this tutorial it was truly fantastic,so clear and easy to follow.please see my effort here!http://coopsnpeps.blogspot.com/2009/08/ruffle-sleeve-topdress.html

Hi Candace,I have found you via "Stacy Sews" blog, she had a link to this fantastic tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing this. I have almost finished my version and will send you a link to the finished version. Can't wait to share it!Kind Regards

Just gorgeous! Love it! I couldn't resist adding this to our link luv roundup today.http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/2009/09/link-luv-roundup.htmlThanks for sharing and if you're interested we have "featured on luvinthemommyhood" buttons now. If you would like to sport one, send an email my way to luvinthemommyhood@yahoo.ca

As for the measurements from Dana for the 2T-3T, I don't think that she folded the sleeve at all. So if you sew this per your instructions exactly, the sleeves need to be cut 7 inches wide. I am learning this the wrong way...itty bitty sleeves, but still cute, I am sure!

Thanks soooo much for this wonderful tutorial !!!This past summer I bought cute FQ's hoping to make cute little blousesfor my little one but it didn't happened... Now thanks to this tutorial I will be making them before winter is over !!!!Love the ruffles !!!This tutorial may work for an adult as well !??? Hmmm.

I love this! I came across this tutorial this morning and went out after work this evening to pick up fabric to make each of my girls one! I can't wait to start first thing in the morning. I really needed a new project and this fit the my requirements, cute, simple, for my girls lol!

I just made it, and love it! I also want to let you know I love your blog, I read it almost every day, but never left a response before. My blog is in Dutch, but it has a translation tool and I posted a picture of the top/dress. Thank you!

Hint:I had some cute pink eyelet knit leftover, enough for 2 Ruffle Tops for 2 toddler GD's.It was too thick to turn double for the sleeve elastic casing. So this works--iron the bottom raw edges under in a 1/4 seam before topstitching the fold edge. Then you can tuck in 1/4" elastic on the bottom, stretching as you go, and zigzag it closed.

Thank you so much for posting this super easy top. I made it last night for my self. A plus size girl. :) and it came out really cute. I would love to share a pic, but im new to this blog site so i dont know how to share it. Anyways, thanks again!!

I made one tonight after seeing your tutorial from Danas blog! i love this top and will be making more for my almost 3 yr old! - Here is a pic of mine =) http://sewgeeky.blogspot.com/2011/09/ruffle-sleeve-top-for-miss-m.html

Thanks so much for the tutorial, your instructions are really simple and easy to follow. I've just made 2, 1 that fits my daughter now and one a little bit bigger ready for summer. (she's 5 months, so I just used your 2T instructions and took a little bit off.)I screwed up a bit on the sleeves when sewing to the bodice, so I made some little felt flowers and sewed these onto where I'd messed up and it looks so sweet :)

I've been looking for an easy top to make for my twin girls for the summer (when you are sewing for two, the easier, the better :).

My girls are in 24m/2T, so I used Dana's size adjustment. Just one difference, the width of the sleeves was WAY too narrow so I scrapped it and went with 14" by 6" instead, worked out perfect (although a tensy bit narrower than your result).

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I believe in being positive. I believe in love & family. I believe in handmade. I believe in doing good to others. I believe that we are all connected. I believe that every little bit adds up to make a big difference. My name is Candace. I'm married to the love of my life & am the mother to two super cool girls & one sweet baby boy. I love sewing, cooking, thrifting & photography.